A multilevel voltage-source inverter with separate DC sources for static VAr generation

Abstract

A new multilevel voltage-source inverter with separate DC sources is proposed for high-voltage, high power applications, such as flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) including static VAr generation (SVG), power line conditioning, series compensation, phase shifting, voltage balancing, fuel cell and photovoltaic utility systems interfacing, etc. The new M-level inverter consists of (M-1)/2 single phase full bridges in which each bridge has its own separate DC source. This inverter can generate almost sinusoidal waveform voltage with only one time switching per cycle as the number of levels increases. It can solve the problems of conventional transformer-based multipulse inverters and the problems of the multilevel diode-clamped inverter and the multilevel living capacitor inverter. To demonstrate the superiority of the new inverter, a SVG system using the new inverter topology is discussed through analysis, simulation and experiment.